Back Off On Stun Guns Officials Tell Legislators

The head of a group of Palm Beach County law enforcement leaders on Thursday accused the Florida Legislature of interfering in local law enforcement affairs, calling state efforts to curb police use of stun guns a "knee-jerk reaction" in the midst of a national controversy over the use of Tasers, including incidents involving death and children.

Boca Raton Police Chief Andrew Scott, who heads a committee of Palm Beach County law enforcement officials reviewing the use of Tasers, said the state legislature "shouldn't mandate to us" policy regarding the stun guns.

State Attorney Barry Krischer implored the county Law Enforcement Planning Council, a group of local police chiefs, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, Krischer and others in law enforcement to create a uniform policy governing the stun guns after the Taser-related death of Timothy Bolander in Delray Beach in December.

The county medical examiner later determined Bolander's death was caused by a high level of cocaine in his body. But more than 100 people have died in the United States and Canada after police Taser strikes since 1999, despite it being touted as a nonlethal alternative to deadly force.

It was something that could no longer be ignored, officials said.

"This is an issue drawing serious review," said John Sullivan, director of training for Boca Raton police.

At least 19 deaths have resulted after a police Taser strike in Florida, records show. State legislators decided to get involved.

"There is a crisis in America, especially in Florida, regarding Taser use," said State Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando. Siplin wants to suspend police Taser use for a year pending the results of an independent study on the stun gun's effects.

He has sponsored or co-sponsored five bills on the stun gun, from Taser use on minors to Taser training.

Scott ridiculed one of his proposals in particular. SB 2238 would require 100 hours of Taser training for officers.

"That may be overkill," Scott said Thursday morning at the chiefs' monthly meeting. "We don't have that kind of training for use of deadly force."

The Taser issue is a local, law enforcement issue that should be addressed by local police chiefs and sheriffs, Scott said.

"Let [law enforcement] direct the Legislature rather than a knee-jerk reaction," he said.

But Siplin countered that the proposed legislation was not a knee-jerk reaction, rather ideas that need to be addressed sooner rather than later. "Police are using a tool that can kill," he said. "As a prudent legislator, I must act. It is my job to set policy in the state of Florida for law enforcement and any other agency."

Siplin's proposals are languishing in the Legislature.

The lack of conclusive testing on the Taser has factored into the debate. There is no extensive testing on the stun gun's effects on the elderly, the very young, the sick or those in a chemically induced state, experts said.

"The physiological effects of the Taser are not sufficiently understood," said John Wikswo, a Vanderbilt University biomedical engineer.

Taser shocks are supposed to stimulate the neuromuscular system in a way that prevents a person from moving, Wikswo said. The debilitating pain, coupled with the inability to move, makes it an effective nonlethal weapon.

In addition to stimulating skeletal muscles, a Taser shock may affect the heart, interrupting its normal rhythm. Disruption of the electrical activity in the heart can cause cardiac arrest in seconds and, if untreated, death in minutes.

"Taser International claims the M26 does not have a fatal effect on the heart, but there is no guarantee that [Tasers] do not have that effect," Wikswo said. "I have not seen the data that claim is based upon."

A Department of Defense study cited by Taser International defends the electric gun, but also recommends more research on how Tasers affect sensitive or intoxicated people.

The M26, Taser's older, more powerful weapon, is the most common model used by Palm Beach County law enforcement agencies.